http://hdl.handle.net/10106/1174 http://hdl.handle.net/10106/1064 An Examination Of The Tone System Of Fur And Its Function In Grammar Noel, Georgianna This research into the tonal system of Fur and its grammatical functions began with several basic assumptions. These assumptions were based on the excellent prior research by Jakobi (1989), and Kutsch Lojenga and Waag(2000). These assumptions were: 1. Fur is a register tone language with two tones L and H. Contours on LH and HL are possible. 2. Tone makes lexical distinctions in Fur as exemplified by examples such as: 'desert' úrì 'sheep' úri 3. Tone also functions in the grammar of Fur. Tone is used to differentiate the nominative and locative forms of nouns and the attributive and predicate forms of adjectives. The purpose of the research was to take this knowledge and study two aspects of the Fur language in greater detail. These two objectives were as follows: 1. A reexamination of the tone system to determine if Jernudd's claim (1983) of a three tone system was possible. 2. An investigation of two previously known functions of tone in Fur, that of tone change in the formation of locatives, and tonal difference between attributive and predicate forms of nouns, in light of the results of the new evaluation of the tone system produced by the first objective. 3. A study of a new function of tone in Fur grammar discovered during this research, namely a tonal difference in [±human] objects of verbs based on their semantic roles. Through elicitation of data from Subject A, a native speaker of Fur residing in Arlington, Texas, and analysis of the data using Fo Pitch Trajectory Plots, the aforementioned topics are investigated. Wed, 17 Sep 2008 23:35:01 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10106/989 The Language Of The University: A Systemic Functional Analysis Gonzales, Erin This study examines the negotiation of interpersonal meaning in the language of university administrators in their communications with students. The three texts in this study were written by the president of a large university to the student body and concern a controversy which arose on campus. The study uses Systemic Functional Grammar to examine how the language of the texts constructs interpersonal relationships between administration and students, as well as the extent to which such language changes when significant contextual issues become a factor. Specifically, in this study data analysis reveals that the language used changes in different contexts in an effort to maintain a positive interpersonal relationship between the university and the students in light of negative contextual factors. These findings suggest that the university values its relationship with the students and desires to preserve a delicate balance of authority and solidarity, even in challenging situations. Fri, 08 Aug 2008 02:31:16 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10106/669 Students' Noticing And Incorporation Of Written Feedback: A Snapshot Of ESOL Writing Instructors' Commentary On Adult ESOL Students' Essays Clark, Heather Leilani Combining descriptive text analysis with qualitative interviews, the current study addresses the student-teacher written feedback interaction. Reflecting upon the existing debate within second language acquisition research, which focuses on the interface, or non-interface, of conscious and unconscious learning, the first part of the study investigates the role of noticing. Using teacher written commentary on student essays, learners are asked to identify the existence, boundaries, and nature of errors in their interviews. Student interviews are also used to articulate student perspectives on the purposes of feedback. This data illuminates differing opinions between students and teachers. Student essays are further used to analyze the type and location of feedback teachers provide their students, as well as to discriminate the kinds of errors teachers focus on in their written commentary. By looking at first and second drafts, the study investigates the extent to which learners incorporate their teachers' commentary of linguistic features. Instructor interviews expound their reasons for providing feedback, clarify commentary on their learners' papers, and illuminate the instructors' perspectives of their error correction practices. Coding of emergent "error" categories is confirmed by the interviews and instructors' commentary on the students' essays. Seven instructors and 33 students from four post-secondary educational institutions located in the southern part of the United States participated in the study. The current study finds that instructor commentary often facilitates the student's ability to identify the existence of an error; however, it usually fails to facilitate the learner's ability to identify the boundaries or nature of an error. Additionally, 90% of linguistic-focused teacher commentary occurs intralineally, with textual markings and explicit corrections as primary types of feedback. However, textual markings are less explicit, and therefore, more frequently misinterpreted by students. Students incorrectly incorporated or did not incorporate instructor feedback 26% of the time. Teacher inconsistencies may have attributed to these difficulties. Tue, 22 Apr 2008 02:41:13 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10106/315 Learner Perceptions Of Small Group And Pair Work In The Esl Classroom: Implications For Conditions In Second Language Acquisition Polley, Elissa K Second language acquisition (SLA) research finds that small group (SG) and pair work (PW) are essential tools in language learning, specifically creating optimal conditions for negotiation of meaning (e.g., Long, 1985; Pica, et al., 1996). Limited research has focused on learner perceptions playing a part in establishing these conditions. This study examines learner perceptions of participation in SG/PW and the actual character of their participation in creating necessary conditions for SLA. This study involved 29 adult ESL learners enrolled in a private institute. Using focus group discussions, video-recorded SG/PW activities, and "stimulated recall" (Gass & Mackey, 2000), learner perceptions of SG/PW are identified. In addition, learner levels of participation were calculated through conversational "turns" (Edelsky, 1981). Findings show a majority of learners noted communicative breakdown as motivating and it forced them to negotiate for meaning. Further, learners displaying positive perceptions toward SG/PW took more turns, allowing for an opportunity-rich environment for SLA. Thu, 23 Aug 2007 01:56:28 GMT